Prevention and treatment of mink disease: Clostridium falciparum poisoning

Botulism is an acute poisoning of mink caused by Clostridium botulinum exotoxin. Characterized by muscle relaxation and limb paralysis.

1. Pathogen

The pathogen of the disease is Clostridium botulinum, which can produce exotoxins A, B, C, D, E and F6 during reproduction, and its antigenicity is different. The toxin is extremely virulent. 1 mg of purified toxin contains a lethal dose of about 10,000 individuals or kills 4 × 10000000000 mice. Most studies have proved that minks are mostly poisoned by type C toxin.

2. Popular characteristics

The disease is not seasonal and can occur all the year round. The main source of infection of mink botulism is the feed contaminated by the bacteria. When meat and fish feed are contaminated by Clostridium botulinum, a large amount of exotoxin is produced in the process of placement, and minks are poisoned after eating. There is no abnormal change in the appearance of the toxic feed, which is not easy to be found, and the poisonous feed will not be destroyed even if it is placed in a low-temperature cold storage. Therefore, the disease can occur all the year round and is susceptible regardless of age and sex.

3. Clinical symptoms

The incubation period of the disease is 8-10 hours, and less than 24 hours. A large number of minks died after being fed with poisonous feed. Most of them are the most acute and acute type, and the course of disease is 2-3 days and nights.

The sick mink shows inflexible movement, lying inactive, the hindquarters are paralyzed first, gradually spread forward, and finally the whole body is paralyzed and unable to stand. The muscles are highly relaxed and hang down on the hands like socks. The sick mink drooled, foamed, dilated pupils, exophthalmos, did not move, sometimes called, rarely dysentery and vomiting, and generally died in a coma. Some of them had no antemortem symptoms and suddenly died of spasm.

4. Anatomical and pathological changes

There were no characteristic changes in the autopsy of the disease. The body was well nourished, empty in the stomach and intestines, with little congestion and bleeding. Liver hyperemia is pink, kidney is excellent, lung and pleura have bleeding.

5. Diagnosis

According to the sudden onset of epidemiology, a large number of deaths and typical clinical symptoms, muscle relaxation, paralysis and incomplete paralysis, a preliminary diagnosis can be obtained. To make a diagnosis, the leftover feed and dead bodies must be sent to the relevant laboratory to test for Clostridium botulinum toxin.

6. Prevention and treatment

The disease often occurs suddenly and dies, and there is no time for treatment. Generally, there is no specific medicine available, and the use of antibiotics has no good effect. The main purpose is to prevent the occurrence of this disease. Specific prevention methods, can be injected with Clostridium botulinum type C toxoid, regardless of age, injection of 1 ml. To prevent feed from being contaminated by Clostridium botulinum, meat feed should not be stored for too long at about 10 ℃ at room temperature. Suspicious feed, try feeding after high temperature.

In cases where the toxin type is not determined, polyvalent antitoxin serum can be used for treatment, intravenous or intramuscular injection. Symptomatic treatment: enema and gastric lavage with 5% sodium bicarbonate solution or 0.1% potassium permanganate solution, because Clostridium botulinum is easy to be destroyed under alkaline conditions and its toxicity is easy to be weakened under oxidation.